Affymetrix Licenses Microfluidics Technology

A nonexclusive license to use a portion of its microfluidics patent estate with the GeneChip microarray technologies of Affymetrix, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA, USA), has been granted by Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (Hopkinton, MA, USA).

The license extends to the manufacture and sale of GeneChip brand products in all areas of application, including research, diagnostics, and applied genomics applications. In exchange for the license, Affymetrix will pay upfront licensing fees and royalties on future products covered under the agreement. Further financial details were not disclosed.

The scope of the license agreement includes nucleic acid processing and handling associated with GeneChip arrays but excludes the right to use LabChip technology with respect to products intended primarily to perform nucleic acid separations as a discrete, nonintegrated quality control step. Caliper Life Sciences uses its advanced liquid handling and LabChip technologies to create tools that accelerate drug discovery, enable diagnosis of disease, and facilitate scientific research.

"The potential for merging two technologies on the forefront of life science innovation represents an important option for us,” said Alan Sherr, director of licensing for Affymetrix. "We have worked successfully with Caliper as a partner for a year now, and are pleased to be able to extend the scope of our relationship with Caliper to this new area of potential value and importance to Affymetrix' customers.”

Scientists at Affymetrix invented the world's first microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial microarry in 1994. The company's patented photolithographic manufacturing process provides the most information capacity available today on an array.





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